Petraeus: Missile-Shooting Ships on Station in the Gulf

The U.S. military is keeping at least two Navy ships on station in the Persian Gulf, ready to track and possibly intercept missiles, according to the top U.S. general in the region.

Speaking today at the Institute for the Study of War, Gen. David Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, said two cruisers equipped with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System “are in the Gulf at all times now.”

That statement — along with the stationing of other U.S. air defense assets in the region — sends a strong signal to Iran, which has been investing in both ballistic missile technology and a highly suspect nuclear program. Iran’s military ambitions — and its drive to master nuclear enrichment — has unsettled its neighbors, and sparked concerns about a regional arms buildup.

It’s not the first time the U.S. military has deployed Aegis BMD ships to response to missile threats. Last year, the Navy sent two Aegis destroyers in anticipation of a North Korean missile launch. In addition to the Navy ships, Petraeus said the U.S. military now had eight Patriot missile batteries in the region. “[There are] two in each of four countries, U.S. Patriot batteries that weren’t there two years ago,” he said.

In response to a question about creating a formal security alliance in the Gulf region, Petraeus said: “The best recruiting officer in recent times for the CENTCOM security architecture … in our region has been Iranian President Ahmadinejad: His rhetoric, his actions, the continued missile program development, the nuclear program, the employment of proxy elements still in Iraq, who are still active.”

But he dismissed the possibility of a NATO-style alliance in the region, at least for now. “I don’t think the concept of a NATO-like organization is all that realistic in the near term,” he said.